Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Seireitei Monogatari ❯ Taming of the Shrew ( Chapter 82 )

Title: Taming of the Shrew

Pairings/Characters: Ukitake/Nanao, Shunsui

Ratings: K+

Warning: None

Words: 1,184

Description: Sequel to Biological Clock. It was all Shunsui's fault.

 

 

Ise Nanao was confused.

 

She had been receiving gifts. Which wasn't entirely unusual because her captain often loaded her down with extravagant and unnecessary items. Those usually found their way to the nearest trash or a special huge chest that she had been throwing them into.

 

But these gifts were different. Special. Actually rather intuitive.

 

She found them on her desk every morning when she came into work, long before a time when her captain would have been awake and sober. Always elegantly wrapped, with a pretty little bow that was crooked on the left side. Always.

 

The first one had been her favorite tea, a whole box of it. Which was actually rather expensive and thus usually a rare indulgence. Very few people knew she drank this particular tea, and so, Nanao was baffled.

 

A week later, books started appearing on her desk, all wrapped in pretty bows tilted to the left side. They were from the library, obviously borrowed on her behalf, and all subjects that she found interesting but hadn't been able to get a hold of. When she looked on the inside cover, she found that they had been borrowed “indefinitely.” She could take her time to study rather than rush to return them.

 

The following week was a smaller, white box, dark blue ribbon wrapped around and crooked to the left side. It chimed softly when she picked it up, and upon opening, Nanao discovered hair pins. Very pretty ones that shimmered gently in the light. Even now she wore one of them, unable to stop admiring their beauty in the mirror.

 

Every week brought a new gift, always the same in its wrapping. And always anonymous. Why, once she even discovered her paperwork for the coming week entirely finished. Even the work by her stubborn lower-seats, who often proved to be so difficult. And she actually found time to herself, which was probably the greatest gift of all.

 

Ise Nanao had an admirer. Or at least, that was what Matsumoto had claimed when Nanao spoke to her about the gifts.

 

More than that, she had a secret admirer, since the giver had yet to identify his or herself. After all, Matsumoto had warned her not to completely rule out another woman. While Nanao herself was not inclined towards affections with women, she supposed her friend had a point. And for someone this generous and persistent, Nanao secretly admitted that she might be willing to try.

 

Of course, telling Matsumoto inevitably meant that the rest of Seireitei would also find out.

 

The Shinigami Woman's Association thought it cute, encouraging her to discover the identity, congratulating her on capturing some poor sap's heart.

 

Nanao tried to act annoyed, but inwardly, she really was flattered. The gifts were intuitive and well thought out, definitely better than her captain's blatant and often wrong attempts at winning her favor. She was of the mind that if Shunsui really wanted to impress her, he could learn to do his paperwork on time and realize that her name in no way, shape, or form required the use of chan.

 

Still, Nanao wasn't as annoyed by the association's good-natured congratulations as she was by her captain's not so subtle insinuations. He kept making mentions of getting married and having children and creating a family and all that jazz. She simply struck him with her book and frostily ignored him, never admitting aloud that the thought was actually kind of appealing.

 

So long as that whole plan did not include her captain.

 

Or Kurotsuchi Mayuri. There were some lines that Nanao would not cross. That was one of them.

 

Then, Ise Nanao discovered the truth.

 

She came in earlier than usual one day, having woken to bright sunshine and feeling generally more chipper than normal. Rolling out of bed in a relatively good mood, she decided there was no harm in heading in early.

 

That was when she caught him, stealthily sneaking into her office and laying something on her desk. On second glance, it turned out to be her favorite flower. And there was a ribbon around the elegant pot, artfully knotted with a bow that was crooked to the left.

 

“You!” Nanao stated very intelligibly, nearly dropping her book. “It's been you!”

 

Ukitake Jyuushiro turned with a sheepish expression and a kind smile on his face. “Ah, you caught me,” he said, patting down his robes.

 

Nanao blinked, adjusting her glasses. “You... why?”

 

“Did you not like the gifts?” he asked instead. Still smiling. One hand nudging the flower into a better position on her desk.

 

She was flabbergasted. “That's not...” Nanao paused, sucked in a breath, reached for something more appropriate to say. “I mean, thank you.”

 

“You're welcome!” he beamed, making him look several years younger; he really was an attractive man. “Though I admit they weren't entirely altruistic.”

 

“I see.” Nanao adjusted her glasses again.

 

She still couldn't wrap her mind around it. Ukitake-taichou had been bringing her the gifts? He was her secret admirer? She should have known, judging from the style of the presents and the shrewdness.

 

Ukitake-taichou cleared his throat. “The pin. It looks lovely on you. I thought it would.”

 

To her surprise, a faint blush colored her cheeks. “Thank you,” Nanao managed without stuttering, one hand rising to briefly touch the sparkling metal. Where was her calm? “You have great taste.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

There was a moment of silence where he stepped closer. Why hadn't she realized how tall he was before? And handsome. Perhaps his friendship with Shunsui had always made her so oblivious because really, he had the prettiest eyes. And hair.

 

“You wouldn't, perhaps, be interested in having dinner with me?” Ukitake-taichou inquired softly.

 

Nanao blinked. It took a moment to register that she had spoken to her. She was too busy admiring him.

 

Her cheeks burned. “I...”

 

“Tonight,” Ukitake-taichou added with that dazzling smile, which was just as all encompassing. “I'll pick you up?”

 

Somehow, she managed to make her head nod. He smelled very good, like the ground after a fresh rainfall and the heaviness of the air before a spring storm.

 

Had she been living in a box? How had she not noticed any of this before? Was Shunsui so much of a distraction that her brain had rotted and dribbled from her ears? It must have for her to have missed this. Missed him.

 

He smiled again. “Great. I'm happy to hear it. See you tonight.” Ukitake-taichou inclined his head in a sort of bow and walked past her, heading to the door. Only to pause and turn back.

 

“One more thing?”

 

She turned to him, clutching her book to her chest as if it were a lifeline.

 

“What do you think about children?”

 

Nanao blinked. “Someday?”

 

His eyes sparkled. “Great! See you tonight! And it's Jyuushiro, by the way.”

 

Then, he was gone. And she could breathe again, her eyes locked on the plant he had brought for her. Elegant petals. Her very favorite.

 

Ise Nanao had a date.

 

A date with Ukitake Jyuushiro.

 

*****